This invention concerns otherwise conventional faucet assemblies for lavatory or kitchen sinks and the like and, more specifically, to an improved plumbing fixture to facilitate installation of the faucet assembly.
Conventional faucet assemblies may include a separate hot and cold water valves, each having a base stem inserted through an opening in the rear flange of a sink or the faucet assembly may be a single fixture including two base stems mounted through openings in the rear flange of the sink. Whether the faucet assembly has one base stem or two, such a conventional stem is externally threaded to receive a nut and thus securely mount the fixture in place.
This conventional construction presents a number of difficulties. First, the space between the sink basin rear wall and a wall of the kitchen or lavatory in which the sink is installed is usually extremely small, making it very difficult to secure the nut on the faucet assembly base stem without having a special tool to accomplish the task. Secondly, such conventional faucet assembly base stems have external threads which can be easily damaged during assembly. Furthermore, even before assembly, such base stem external threads need to be protected in order not to be damaged. Thirdly, conventional assembly of a nut to a faucet assembly often causes the faucet assembly to rotate as it is being secured in place, thus further complicating the mounting process.
The present invention provides a plumbing fixture for mounting faucet assemblies which overcomes these disadvantages. The faucet assembly may be mounted without need of entering the small space between a sink basin rear wall and the wall of the kitchen or lavatory in which the sink is installed. The parts may be assembled without any possibility of rotating the faucet assembly in its mounting. Instead of a base stem, the faucet assembly is provided with a lower tubular plunger having screw threads only in its interior and thus the member will not be damaged. The present invention also provides a plumbing fixture including a slip fit joint or connection between parts so as to accommodate a considerable range of thickness in the sink flange in which the faucet assembly is mounted.